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And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times; unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
Where the KJV reads unless, the Hebrew reads ulay, which generally means “maybe.” According to Kittel and BDB, we should prefer to read lule (if . . . not, unless) instead of ulay (maybe, perhaps). Kittel indicates that the lule reading is supported by the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac versions.